glimmer.
"She's pretty," they say. The girl from District 1, blonde hair with sparkling green eyes.
"She's pretty," they say. It's all they ever say.
She will show them, though. She's pretty, but above all she is deadly. She will paint her lips red with blood and they will know that she is more.
Glimmer is pretty, yes.
But Glimmer will be victorious.
She will show them.
(She dies ugly, and that's okay. She supposes she showed them, anyway—welts on her skin and convulsions racking her body—showed them that she is not just pretty.)
marvel.
"He's funny," they say. The boy from Distict 1, mischievous grins with calculating grey eyes.
"He's funny," they say. It's all they ever say.
He is not what a Career should be. He is tall, lanky, not very intimidating, but they don't know anything. He will show them that he is more.
Marvel is funny, yes.
But Marvel will be victorious.
He will show them.
(He dies sad, and that's okay. He supposes he showed them, anyway—a slight pang of guilt from killing that little girl—showed them that he is not just funny.)
clove.
"She's small," they say. The girl from District 2, one hundred pounds with cold, dark eyes.
"She's small," they say. It's all they ever say.
They're right, of course, but she is more. They'll learn that she doesn't need another foot of height or a hundred more pounds of muscle to be lethal.
Clove is small, yes.
But Clove will be victorious.
She will show them.
(She dies small, and that's okay. She supposes she showed them anyway—six kills in total, more than any other Career—that she is not just small.)
cato.
"He's tough," they say. The boy from District 2, bloody knuckles with angry blue eyes.
"He's tough," they say. It's all they ever say.
It isn't true, though. He's strong and competitive, yes. But he's more. He is brutal, bloodthirsty. They'll realize that he deserves this more than anyone.
Cato is tough, yes.
But Cato will be victorious.
(He dies brutally, and that's okay. He supposes he showed them, anyway—so much blood on his hands with not a single ounce of remorse—showed them that he is more than just tough.)
the careers.
They really are just children, caught in something bigger than themselves. Stars in their eyes, gold in their veins, everything to prove.
(In their separate ways, they are the most victorious of them all.)